Start here
Five minutes on what the cube actually is makes every method easier.
Reading the moves
Each letter is a side, seen from where you are:
Up, Down, Right, Left, Front, Back. A letter alone
means a quarter turn clockwise, as if you were looking straight at that side.
' (say “prime”) means anticlockwise, and 2 means a half turn.
Hold it still
Pick a front and keep it facing you. Moves only make sense if the cube does not turn in your hands.
Algorithms are recipes
A sequence like R U R' U' is a fixed recipe that does one job. You do not need to understand it — just do it exactly, in order.
Extra letters
M turns the middle slice (the same way as L). A lower-case letter like r turns that side and the middle slice together.
Comparing the methods
They all solve the same cube. They differ in how many moves, how much to memorise, and how they feel.
Which one should I learn?
New to the cube
Learn the Beginner method first — every other method builds on what it teaches.
Want to get fast
Move to CFOP next. Start with the 2-look last layer shown here; it is the most documented method by far.
Like thinking, not memorising
Try Roux. Fewer moves and fewer algorithms, more planning. Great for one-handed solves.
Like smooth, steady turning
Try ZZ. After the first step you only turn three sides, with no cube rotations.
Practice tips
Slow is smooth
Turn slowly without stopping rather than fast with pauses. Speed comes by itself.
One step at a time
Practise the step you find hardest on its own. Scramble, solve up to that step, then repeat it.
Learn with the app
Put your cube into the solver and pick Beginner or CFOP — it shows every turn of that method on your own cube, step by named step.
Sources
This guide is written in our own words. The move sequences are the standard ones cubers share; we checked every one on this site's own cube engine. These pages go further: